Uncle Sonic
by Turtlerose555
Summary: Being an uncle has changed Sonic in so many ways than he could imagine. But what happens when he gets put in charge of his young niece for a few days? And how will his life change even more when an old friend comes to visit? Loads of Sonic/Amy with a bit of Shadow/Sonia. Rated T for language and later themes. Read and Review!
1. Please? For Me?

_His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy_

_There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti_

_He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready to drop bombs,_

_But he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down,_

_The whole crowd goes so loud_

Twenty Two year old Sonic the Hedgehog groaned as he looked over at his clock.

"You've gotta be _kidding_ me…"

He groaned louder as his cell phone rang the ringtone of the Eminem song. There should be _no_ reason, whatsoever, for anyone to be blowing up his phone at 7:23 A.M on a Saturday morning unless someone was dying-and even then, you just might get hung up on. Realizing that his phone won't stop ringing, he finally picked up the phone and answered harshly.

"Who the hell is this, and why are you calling me on a Saturday morning?"

"It's called Caller ID, and it's best to check before answering." The familiar gruff voice of Shadow came on the other end.

"Oh, it's you. Shads, it's 7 in the morning. What the hell do you want?"

"Uh. Hold on a sec."

This irritated Sonic a bit. He _knew_ Shadow didn't just call his phone and told _him_ to _hold on_. Who the fuck did he think he was?

"Heeyyyy Bro!" A more cheery voice came on the other end.

"Hey, Sis," Sonic greeted as he recognized Sonia's voice on the other end. "What do you want?"

"Well, Shadow got recognized for a prestigious award-some engineering thing-and we have to go to Washington D.C. for the awards ceremony."

"Annnnnnnndddd?"

"And, well, we were wondering if you could watch the baby for us?"

"Well when's the award ceremony?"

"Tomorrow…"

Sonic groaned. He had made plans this weekend, and now he was stuck watching his niece?

"Dammit, Sonia, you should've told me sooner."

"Sorry, sorry. But we'll bring her by around Elevenish…"

"Cool beans. And when will you be back to pick her up?"

Silence.

"S_onia_! When are you coming to pick her up?"

"….Uh….Tuesday…?" She said sheepishly.

"_Excuse_ you?"

"Please Sonic? For me?"

"No Sonia. Every time you do that 'Please for me' crap, I end up doing something totally ridiculous."

Sonia did a little shriek and dropped the phone. There was a bit of shuffling before a voice came back on.

"So my sis dropped the phone?"

"Yeah." They couldn't see each other, but they both rolled their eyes at the exact same time. She was still the same high maintanence Sonia.

"So will you watch her?"

"Shads. I'm busy man. You planned this on me at last minute."

"I see. Well I didn't want to do this, but…"

Sonic wondered for a bit, but then his eyes opened wide. He knew _exactly_ what Shadow had planned to do.

"Oh no! Don't you dare! Swear to God, Shadow, I will hang up this phone right now-"

"Uncah Sonic?" A soft voice came onto the phone.

Sonic's heart began to melt midsentence as a smile spread upon his face.

"Heeeyyy baby girl," He said as he struggled to keep his voice steady. Curse that Shadow. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she replied. There was a pause as whispering occurred, then a surprised gasp from the other end. "Daddy says I gets to spend the whole weekend with you!"

That little black hedgehog Bastard.

"Yeaahhh…about that babe, that wasn't really the plan this weekend…I'm sorry…"

"Awwww…" she sighed. Sonic's heart cringed; he could literally see the upset look on his little niece's face.

There was more whispering. "Please, Uncah Sonic?" More whispering. "For me?"

Whelp, that did it.

"Fine, you can come for the weekend."

"Yaaaaayyy! I love you, Uncah Sonic!"

Sonic began to smile. There was just no way he could say no to her. "Love you too, babe. Now put _Daddy_ back on the phone."

There was a shuffling on the other end before a voice came on. "So, uh, hey," Shadow said.

"Listen. F-you. F-the room you're in. F-Sonia. F-life. F-the planet. F-Bruno Mars. F-your cat. F-"

"Yeah, we'll see you later Sonic." And he hung up the phone before the blue hedgehog was even _close_ to finishing.

**~XXXX~**


	2. The Normal Procedure

Roxanne Maria the Hedgehog was the two and a half year old daughter of Shadow and Sonia. Sonic's sister had finally tied the knot with her long-time boyfriend Shadow the Hedgehog. Not only that, but had also made a baby with him. Their eventual marriage had been expected to happen, but having a baby sure wasn't.

Shadow and Sonia had been twenty-one, Sonic's current age, when Sonia had become pregnant. That had definitely been a big surprise to everyone. If anything, people would have assumed Sonic would have been the first one to have kid, either by being stupid and not using protection or by just not caring to knock a girl up. But Shadow and Sonia? They were both so _responsible_. They had _goals_. They had _plans_. They were both in their junior year of college, attending the University of Philadelphia a little ways from Station Square. Shadow was going for Chemical Engineering, Sonia for veterinary medicine. They both were doing _perfect_.

Until...let's be honest. The condom broke.

Finding out that she was pregnant had been tough. Telling everyone had been worse. Hector (Sonia and Sonic's father) had flipped shit, expectedly. Valarie (their mother) was disappointed in them both. Everyone that had found out at their college and that had even attended high school with them were shocked. The only two people that had not completely reacted the way to be expected, were Silver and Sonic. Silver was a little disappointed, only because he was worried about Shadow and Sonia's futures. But he was mostly excited about the prospect of becoming a Godfather. Sonic, at first, had laughed at them, finding joy in the fact that Shadow had screwed up before he did. But then he began to get excited too. He was gonna be an uncle. He didn't realize how much it would affect his life until the kid was actually there though.

A lot of things changed. The first being that Shadow immediately asked her to marry him within the first month. He told Sonia that he wasn't just asking for the sake of looking good or making the baby have the same last name. He explained that he loved her and would want to permanently be in her life even if she wasn't having his kid. He said that he wanted to take full responsibility for her and their future family together. Of course Sonia had bawled first, and then accepted. They soon had a very small and private wedding consisting of them, her parents, Silver, Sonic, and the pastor. Next after that, the plan was for them to both continue to go to school and do what they had originally planned. But it got harder. Shadow was Sonia's rock though. He was the one that got two part-time jobs _and_ still went to class to try and earn a little extra cash. He was the one who took care of everything she needed without even being asked. He was also the one that had convinced her to change her mind about going to be veterinarian, to try and becoming a veterinary technician instead. This eventually stopped her from being in school for eight years to only two.

When it was about two months before Sonia was ready to have the baby, Shadow and Sonia both began finishing up their year through online classes. Sonia already had her two years to be a vet tech, she just had to finish a few more classes to be able to be qualified. Shadow still had to go one more full year for his degree, but he decided it would be better to do his next year online so he'd be close to Sonia. Her parents had given them starter money to afford a nice apartment that was close enough for their families to visit, but far enough away where they didn't have to see them every day (a perk that Shadow appreciated). Shadow, still while doing his classes, had landed a full-time job as a research assistant and writer for topics on Biology, Chemistry, and science issues that occur on Earth

To put it lightly, Shadow was the bomb at it.

Sonia had even lined up a job at the local animal shelter to be a vet tech for the on-staff veterinarian. Her soon-to-be boss understood that she would be having the baby sometime soon, but promised that the job would be waiting for her when she was ready.

Score.

When the baby finally arrived, right on schedule, _everything_ changed. Hector and Valarie (more so Hector) had suddenly stopped being angry when they saw the baby. Silver smiled more when he saw his great Goddaughter. It was a known fact he had always wanted a girl. Sonia's maternal gear kicked in instantly when she promised that she would _kill_ _anybody _that ever would try and hurt her baby. Shadow looked and seemed happy, something so rare that Sonic almost didn't notice, but he could just tell. This baby changed his brother-in-law. And Sonic? He didn't know what happened. But staring at his baby niece, he just started to change too. He wanted to be there when she started to crawl, walk, and talk. He wanted to be the person she reached for when she wanted to be held. He wanted to be the one that would kick the ass of anyone who ever _dared_ to hurt her (not that there'd be any objection to that. He and Shadow would both have their guns locked and loaded).

He wanted to be the best uncle ever.

* * *

"HEEDDGGGGEEHOOOOOGG!"

Sonic slowly opened his eyes with a glare as his roommate yelled at the top of his lungs for no reason at all.

"Yeah?" Sonic answered back calmly, glancing to the doorway of the living room where Silver was now standing.

"Get the door!" He snapped before walking into the living room and plopping down into his recliner.

"Forreals? You _just_ walked past the door! Why didn't you get it?"

"How 'bout I go get my _whip_ instead? You're not too grown to get your smart little blue ass whooped! Now get the damn door! Shoot. Sleepin' on my couch, actin' like you pay the rent. You need to learn to respect your protector! I'm probably gonna end up getting killed tomorrow anyway! Mm-hmm. You'll wanna be actin' all sad then, mopin' around and wishin' you and your "frenemy" hadn't tried to give me a heart attack ever since you guys were younger! Shoot, I remember back when your little ass was eight and Shadow was thirteen and you two almost killed me by-"

By this point, Sonic had already stood up and was on his way to the door as his roomie continued to rant, tuning him out in the process. _He_ probably didn't even know what he was rambling about anymore.

Sonic opened the door just as Shadow burst in, one arm carrying two giant duffel bags, his other holding a large car baby-seat.

"Damn, all that for three days?" Sonic asked, turning to watch Shadow drop the bags and seat on the floor before massaging his arms.

"We're just making sure you have everything you need." Sonia said behind him, walking in with a cute little bundle in her arms.

"Uncah Speedy!" Roxanne's soft voice exclaimed from her mother's arms.

"Hey, Roxy!" Sonic smiled, taking her from Sonia. "How's my Angel doing?"

"Good. I missed you." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Missed you too, babygirl."

"Awwww." Sonia cooed in front of him. Sonic smirked and gave her an eye roll and a head nod.

"Sonic, come help me in here for a minute. We've got to go soon." He heard Shadow say from the kitchen.

"Alright. Silver, look who's here," Sonic announced, walking back into the living room while holding Roxanne. Sonia followed behind him.

"Hi, Silvey!" She said happily.

"Hey there, lil' baby. How's my favorite girl today?" Silver had stopped his ranting the moment he saw his goddaughter and his voice all the sudden went to Mister Roger's. Sonic had placed her in his lap, watching as Silver placed a sweet kiss on her forehead. "You want some of Silver's special orange juice, full of vitamin C?" He asked her.

"Yes, please." She giggled with a crooked grin.

"Alright, baby. Sonic, get her some juice!" He turned to Sonic, his voice harsh again.

Unbelievable. "That's messed up, Silv. Me and Shads had to drink the visitor's orange juice. You don't love us like you love her?" He complained with a grin as he stood from the couch.

"Nope!" He replied quickly with a grin as well.

"Damn, you didn't even think on that one." Sonic snickered, leaving the room.

He walked into the kitchen to find Shadow filling the refrigerator with food and bottles.

"Hey." He said, continuing to empty some of the contents of one of his duffels into the fridge. "We didn't really have time to pre-make some of the food for the next three days so I just brought over stuff for you to make. For tonight, she begged for hot dogs and macaroni and cheese again, we had it last night. I put the leftovers in a container on the first shelf. There's also a few baby carrots in there. Make sure she eats at least three. For tomorrow, I didn't really know so I just brought stuff out of our refrigerator."

"Dude, it's not like we don't have food in the house." Sonic snickered, glancing over his shoulder. "Wow, that's decent, man, thanks."

"Yeah, and if you don't eat it all, I'm taking the rest back." Shadow glared at him. "Anyways, I brought a pack of fish sticks, put some potato wedges in the freezer, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, she likes sandwiches so I brought you turkey, cheese, mayo, peanut butter, jelly, and a loaf of bread, make-it-yourself pizzas, there's green beans and broccoli in the freezer, salad in the bottom drawer, make sure she gets at least one vegetable during every meal, there's also apples, bananas, and grapes, aaanndd, oh yeah, I got a bottle of apple juice for her, carton of milk, and two jugs of water just in case...I think that's pretty much it...for now." Shadow turned to see his brother staring at him with a blank face.

"...This is only for three days, _right_?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Just making sure you have everything you need."

"So I've heard. Dude, we're good. I've got this." Sonic said easily, pushing his brother-in-law/frenemy aside to get the orange juice.

"Okay. But now that that's taken care of it's time to move on to the rules."

"Oh my-are you serious? Are we really doing this again?" Sonic groaned, reaching into the cupboard to pull out a sippy-cup.

"Yep."

"I've never _once_ broken one of your dumb and obvious rules when I'm with the kid, man."

"I know that, and I'm glad. I just feel the need to reiterate."

"_Don't_."

"Too late."

Sonic looked up from pouring the juice to see Shadow sitting at the table, the list out. Sonic rolled his eyes and sat down in front of him.

"Let's just get this over with." He grumbled.

"Great." Shadow cleared his throat before beginning. "'These are the rules that Sonic the Hedgehog must abide to while he is responsible for his niece, Roxanne Maria, or hereby receive the ass-kicking of his life by his brother-in-law and father of said niece, Shadow the Hedgehog.'" Shadow read while Sonic mouthed along the words perfectly.

"Let's begin. First rule: no drinking."

"Obviously."

"No smoking with cigarettes."

"Dude, you know I don't smoke."

"I seem to recall a time when you were eight-"

"Dude, let that go! And it wasn't with cigarettes anyway!" Sonic snapped with a mischievous smirk.

"Fine. No smoking with cigarettes and/or 'white candycanes.'" Shadow air-quoted with a smirk of his own. Sonic shook his head.

"Man, you don't forget _anything'_!"

"Which reminds me, no Cornelius Ridgebone, who I'll just write in right now..." Shadow began to scribble his name onto the list while Sonic rolled his eyes. "And you also know I stopped hanging with that psycho's ass."

"Still," Shadow said without looking up from writing. "Okay. No drugs."

"One: duh. Two: I don't do drugs."

"No reckless or criminal activities."

"Does this include-?"

"No tagging."

"Damn!"

"No fighting."

"Unless provoked."

"No dude friends."

"You can't be a real dude without dude friends, dude."

"No hoes, no sex, no Antoine D'Coolette, or any other pimps for that matter."

"Not while I'm with my niece, anyway."

"No Vector the Crocodile Sr.-"

"No one wants that rich bastard in this house."

"Or the Second." Huey raised an eyebrow.

"That's messed _up_."

"No Charmy Bee."

"Damn."

"No Monkey Khan/Ken."

"_Damn!_"

"No members of the Freedom Fighters."

"You're a hater!"

"No Eggman."

"...But I get you on that one."

"No horrible music, black or terrible in general… like Kesha."

"Do I look like I listen to fucking Kesha?"

"No fried chicken or any other food that causes high blood pressure."

"Anything were going to eat is gonna end up giving us high blood pressure. We Hedgehogs!"

"And finally, **NO** B.E.T. Ever. In life." Shadow finished, putting the paper down to glare at Sonic. He sighed in response.

"Whatever."

"Deal?" Shadow reached across the table to shake his hand.

"Yeah yeah." Sonic stared at his hand for a moment. "Did you wash your hands?"

Shadow rolled his eyes and pulled back his hand. "Oh yeah, one more thing." He said, rising from the table. "Roxanne's at the stage in her life where she's basically like a sponge. She takes in everything she sees and hears and imitates it. So try and control your mouth a little."

"I rarely ever swear when she's with me, heffa."

"This includes the word 'heffa.'"

"Oh...well, I rarely say that around her anyway."

"Heffa, where is the juice for my godbaby?" They heard Silver yell from the living room. They then heard a faint giggle, then a little voice say, 'Heffa!'

Shadow turned and gave Sonic a look. "Hey, I don't know what you want me to do about his ass." Sonic shrugged, grabbing the drink off the counter and following him into the living room.

Sonia now had Roxanne on her lap and was re-tying her thick dark quills back into two pigtails on either side of her head.

"Here you go, babe." Sonic handed her the cup.

"Thank you!" She said, taking a long sip. She then smiled up at him and let out an "Ahhh!"

Everyone laughed at her adorableness before Sonia stood up, the baby still in her arms.

"Shadow, I think it's time to go if we want to get to D.C. before dark." She handed Roxanne to Sonic as she picked up her purse. "Sonic, you know she usually gets at least one nap a day, sometimes two. Anymore and she's up all night."

"Got it."

"Bedtime's usually at 8:30, but on the weekends it can be until 9."

"Yup."

"If she gets fussy, just put on one of her old movies. You know there's-"

"_The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, _and_ Oliver and Company_, yes." Sonic cut her off, rolling his eyes.

"And-"

"She likes her ocean music CD to put her to sleep."

"She also-"

"Doesn't like the crust on her sandwiches, she likes her apples with the skin peeled off, and she also likes eating her cereal dry."

Sonia stared at him, her mouth in the shape of an O. Even Shadow and Silver looked surprised. Sonic grinned, leaning closer to her with the baby still in his arms. "Son. I've got this. Trust me."

Sonia slowly began to smile. Then she looked at Roxanne and stroked her cheek with her thumb before leaning to kiss Sonic's.

"You'll never know how much I trust you with her, Sonic." She said, her voice thick.

"Girl, don't start crying!" He could _not_ deal with tears.

"I'm not!" She said weakly, even though her eyes were filled to the brim.

"Sis, you probably cry when you leave her to go to the mailbox." Sonic tried to joke. "What's the deal?"

Sonia sighed before answering, the tears still threatening to fall at any minute.

"This is the first time she'll be spending the entire weekend with someone."

That surprised Sonic a little bit. "Really?"

Shadow and Sonia both nodded. "Not even your parents?"

"Nope. You're the first." Sonia smiled at Sonic, who soon grinned back at her.

"Alright, we really need to get going now." Shadow finally announced.

"Yeah, you need to get your girl out of here, man. Trying cry on a...guy and stuff." Sonic had somehow successfully managed to stop himself from letting the word 'heffa' slip out. And it was tough Shadow noticed and smirked, nodding his head once.

"I'm good now." Sonia said, her eyes finally looking less wet. "Bye, baby. Be a good girl. I love you." She leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye, Mommy. Love you too."

"Please, she's always a good girl." Sonic grinned as Sonia leaned to hug him and kiss him on the cheek once more.

"Thank you. Take care of her and be good." She said, pulling back.

"Always." She smiled at him before walking over to hug Silver goodbye.

"Roxanne, we'll be back in a few days, okay?" Shadow finally came over. Sonic handed her to him.

"I want you to be a good girl, listen to Silver, and take care of your Uncle Sonic, alright?" Sonic smirked while she giggled.

"Okay."

"Okay. I love you, Beautiful."

"I love you too, Daddy." Roxanne said back sweetly.

Sonic could've _sworn_ he saw Shadow's lips turn up into the smallest of smiles. But it was gone a few seconds later as he turned back to Sonic, handing her to him.

"Thanks, again."

"It's cool." Sonic shrugged as Sonia stood beside Shadow again.

"Ready?" She asked. He nodded. "Bye, Silver." He called into the living room.

"Mm-hmm. Better drive carefully and get little princess there safe, hedgehog!"

Shadow smirked. That was as close to a 'bye' as he was gonna get. "Will do. See you in a few days."

Shadow and Sonia waved once more to Sonic and the baby as they walked out, Sonic closing the door behind them.

"Well now that they're gone," He grinned, turning to the innocent child in his arms. "What kinda trouble do you wanna get into first, babe?"

Roxanne giggled. "Uncah Speedy, Daddy said to be _gooood_!"

"Daddy's not _heeerrree_!" He mimicked her as she laughed, taking her back into the living room with him.

**-XXXX-**

**A/N: Silver is way older than Sonic and the crew (But still younger than Sonic and Sonia's parents). He and Sonic are roommates, but Silver treats Sonic more like a son, and Sonic sees Silver as a father figure and protector/bodyguard from danger. Also Vector the Crocodile II is our normal Chaotix leader. Croc Sr. is his father.**


	3. All These Visitors

"Roxy, your lunch is ready." Sonic called into the living room from the kitchen.

"Okay!"

"You wanna eat in the kitchen or in there?"

"Umm, in here! I wanna watch TV!" She called back.

Just as Sonic was about to pick up her plate, the doorbell rang.

"BLUUUEEEE!"

"I'LL GET IT! Damn." Sonic shouted up towards the ceiling, muttering the last part under his breath.

"Heffa, raise your voice at me one more time and see if I don't come down there!" He heard his roommate faintly shout back. Sonic rolled his eyes as he went to the door, pulling it open.

"What's good?" The crews' friend, Knuckles the Echidna, greeted him, stepping past Sonic and into the house.

"Ex_cuse_ you, I didn't invite you in." Sonic rolled his eyes, shutting the door.

"My bad, bro."

"What are you doin' here? Shadow's not here and I've got the baby for the weekend." Sonic told him, walking back down the hall.

"Yeah, I just found out that he's outta town. That's why-hi, Roxanne!" He changed his sentence mid-way through when he stopped in the doorway of the living room, smiling at her.

"Hi, Uncah Knuckles!" Sonic heard her respond. He then heard Knuckles finally follow him into the kitchen.

"She's so freakin' cute, man." He grinned.

"I know this. You were sayin'? That's why what?" Sonic asked while grabbing two TV dinner trays from the pantry.

"Oh yeah, that's why I'm here. I'm bored as _hell_." He replied, helping Sonic by picking up one of the plates. "Ooh, macaroni and cheese!"

"For the _baby_, heffa." Sonic snatched the plate off him.

"Who's the fried chicken for?" Knuckles asked, eyeing the other plate.

"Uh, _me_?"

"You're gonna let a heffa starve?"

"Probably."

"Aww, come on, I haven't eaten yet!"

"Whatever, man. Help me take this stuff in here then you can get yourself something. Begging ass." Sonic left the room with the trays and Roxanne's plate, while Knuckles followed behind him with the utensils, Roxanne's cup, and Sonic's plate.

Sonic set up the small table in front of Roxanne who was on the couch and set her food down. Knuckles also set down her sippy-cup and fork.

"Give me the knife real quick." Sonic said, before Knuckles handed it to him. He quickly used it and her fork to cut her hot dog into pieces. "Be careful chewing and swallowing, okay?" He told her. She nodded at him with a smile. "Thank you."

"No problem, babe." He handed her fork back to her before setting up his own tray beside her.

"Plate, please." Sonic turned to Knuckles.

Knuckles slowly handed him the plate, avoiding his eyes.

"_Tell me_ you did not just take a bite out of my chicken!" Sonic shouted, tossing the plate on the tray.

"Man, I said I was hungry!"

"Ugh, whatever! Take it! Damn!" Sonic groaned, pushing past him to get _another_ plate of food for himself.

Greedy-ass _heffas_.

When he got back into the living room, he sat on the right side of the baby while Knuckles sat on her other side. "Whaddya wanna watch, boo?" He asked, turning to her.

"I dunno." She said before taking a bite of macaroni and cheese.

"I'll find something good." Knuckles reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

"_You done put 2 of Americaz most wanted__…_" They heard the line from the old Tupac song.

"Nope." Knuckles and Sonic simply said at the same time before the channel was changed. _SpongeBob Squarepants_ was now on.

"This isn't that bad." Knuckles shrugged.

"Oh, uh-uh." Sonic shook his head.

"What?"

"Him and Patrick?" Knuckles continued to stare at him blankly. Sonic rolled his eyes.

"_Gay!_" He coughed loudly, trying to disguise it after by clearing his voice.

"Man, that's not true." But changed the channel anyway.

"I don't think so." Sonic said at the next show before it was changed.

"Not really." Knuckles commented, clicking the button again.

"Stupid."

"Terrible."

"What the he-ck?"

"This is a _kid's_ show?"

"What the deuce is up with these shows, man?" Sonic griped right before the channel was changed to an episode of _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_. Roxanne's eyes lit up.

"Ooh, he's funny! I like this show."

"Thank _God_." Sonic and Knuckles both let out at the same time.

They all watched the episode while eating, laughing, and talking. During one of the commercials, Roxanne first looked from Knuckles' plate to Sonic's.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing to Sonic's chicken drumstick.

His poor deprived niece.

"Some fried chicken. Your daddy never let you have any?" Roxanne shook her head.

"That's a shame." Knuckles said with a snicker.

"Can I try it?" She asked innocently.

Like he was really going to say no.

"Sure, babe." He pulled off a piece of meat with the skin on it and handed it to her. She popped it into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"Well?"

Her eyes went wide. "_Mmmmmmm!_"

Sonic chuckled at her reaction. "More?"

She nodded her head eagerly as Sonic pulled some pieces off for her. "And babygirl?"

"Yeah?"

"_Don't_ tell Daddy."

About fifteen minutes later, they were all mostly finished with their meals as Silver finally came down the steps.

"Blue! I'm going out for a run. After that I'll probably be in the park. Don't tear up my house!" He said from the doorway. Then he looked at Knuckles. "And what the _hell_ are you doing? Sitting up here eating my food? That better not be my fried chicken!"

"But Silver, your roommate was kind enough to feed a poor, starving heffa Echidna like myself!" Knuckles cried out dramatically. "I don't have no money, no home, no food, no water, no welfare, no food stamps-"

"Heffa, hush! You're gonna find a way to buy me some more chicken, and I know that!" Knuckles shook his head with a grin.

"Yes, sir." He chuckled.

"Bye, lil' baby. Be good, now!" Silver was all smiles for her.

"I will, Silvey."

"Peace, Silver."

"Shoot. Peace nothing. There isn't _any_ peace in this world today. Mm-mmm. Wish we could go back to the days where there was once even a _sense_ of peace. Not now-" Silver continued to talk even while walking out the door. Knuckles shook his head again and laughed.

"Man, I love Silver."

"You and Roxy are probably the only ones." Sonic snickered as Roxanne giggled.

* * *

After about an hour of relaxing, Knuckles was now on the floor in front of the couch as Roxanne played with his dreads. He and Sonic were in the middle of an intense game of _NCAA Basketball 10_ as Roxanne watched.

"You 'bout to lose." Knuckles said in sing-song voice, mindlessly hitting buttons on the controller.

"No I'm not! And this isn't fair, my control stick is stuck!" Sonic snapped.

"Sure it is."

"This isn't right because you have an unfair advantage!"

"Not my problem and five…four…."

"Man, this game is cheating!"

"Three…two…." Knuckles hit a final button as his team member made the winning shot. He turned to Sonic.

"Man, whatever! Get your cheatin' Bob-Marley-lookin' self the heck up outta here!" He snapped, crossing his arms. Knuckles only laughed.

"It's cool, I gotta go anyway." He replied, standing up.

"Awww." Roxanne frowned as she let his quills go.

"It's alright, Roxy, you can do my hair next time, okay?" She nodded at him with a smile. He reached down and kissed the crown of her head. "See you soon, Roxy."

"Bye, Uncah Knuckles." She waved as he walked to the door.

"Bye, Sonic."

"Yeah, whatever!"

At the sound of the door closing, Sonic turned back to Roxanne as he put away the game.

"What do you wanna do now, babe?"

She had been about to answer before she yawned loudly. Sonic grinned.

"Somebody's getting sleepy."

"Nuh-uh." She replied back stubbornly, as she rubbed her eye.

"Yeah-huh." He chuckled as he walked over to her and picked her up in his arms. "Come on, just take a tiny little nap for me? I'll give you three scoops of ice cream for dessert tonight." He watched her smile.

"Four."

Oh, she was _definitely_ his niece.

"Hmm… three and a half."

"Four and a half!"

"You're goin' the wrong way, baby." He laughed. "Okay, four. But you have to eat the first two scoops first before getting the other two."

"'Kay!" She grinned triumphantly.

"You drive a hard bargain." He smirked at her, about to begin to walk up the steps with her.

_Ding-dong._

"Ugghh, are you serious?" Sonic mumbled, turning around to walk to the door.

He pulled it open to see none other than Vector the Crocodile II with his partner-in-crime, Charmy Bee.

"What's, Sonic!" Vector greeted loudly.

"Oh snap, he got the baby today! What's up, Lil Bit?" Charmy spoke kindly, leaning to look at the baby in his arms.

"She getting big, man!" Vector added with a smile.

"Yeah, she is. Come in." Sonic stepped aside and let them walk in. "Babe, you remember who they are?" He asked her. She was tiredly laying her head on Sonic's shoulder but nodded.

"Uncah Vecky and Uncah Charmy." She replied sleepily.

"Oh, she knows who I am! I'm loving that!" Charmy grinned.

"Hah, she calls me 'Uncle Vecky.' Usually I tend to kill anyone who calls me that, but she says it so sweet. I'm cool with her calling me that, forreals." Vector smiled widely as Sonic and Charmy stared at him.

His smile quickly evaporated. "The f-"

"PAUSE, Vector!" Sonic yelled, stopping him from finishing his sentence. "Don't. Say. Anything. Just gimme two minutes." He quickly hurried up the stairs and into the guest room that he'd basically transformed into Roxanne's room. He laid her carefully in her crib.

"There you go, babygirl. I'll be back to check on you in a little bit."

"'Kay." She murmured as Sonic tucked her in.

"Sleep well." He said, before going to the door, turning on the night light, and switching off the main light. Then he slipped out, pulling the door closed behind him.

He walked slowly back downstairs and stood in front of Vector who stared back at him.

Sonic sighed. "Un-pause, Vector."

"The _FUCK_ were y'all lookin' at?" He yelled angrily as if he'd never been interrupted.

"Heffa, what the hell? You need to learn to watch your mouth when I'm with my niece. She's two!"

"She doesn't know what I'm saying, heffa!"

"Calm the hell down, Vector." Charmy said lightly, walking past him and following Sonic into the living room. "Try having some diplomacy."

"Don't give me that bullshit, you're the one who says you don't do it!"

"Just because I don't do it doesn't mean you can't do it, Vector!" Charmy was suddenly yelling back at him.

"HEY!" They both turned to see Sonic sitting on the couch, staring at them with an exasperated expression. "Can y'all chill the fuck out? I've got a baby upstairs sleeping and all you heffas wanna do is come in here and yell?"

Vector and Charmy turned back to each other.

"I'm sorry, man. I shouldn't have yelled like that." Vector apologized.

"No, no, I'm sorry too. I'm just trying to push you to be better than I am. I didn't mean to be mean."

"It's all good, man." The two embraced with smiles.

"Um, excuse me, gay heffas?" They both tore apart to look again at Sonic. "What the _hell_ are y'all doing here again?"

"Oh yeah!" Vector walked over to the couch and sat down. "I came to get the design for my tatt! You didn't forget, did you?"

"Ohhhh right. Nah, that's been done." Sonic stood from the couch and walked over to the entertainment center, looking for his paper.

Vector had asked him to make a tribal art design for the tattoo he was planning to get on his back. It hadn't been hard at all for Sonic. He had made it look as sick as it possibly could, also secretly adding his small signature tag somewhere in the design, "Speedy Blue." He always signed his art, but he also always put a hidden smaller tag somewhere on all of his artwork to distinguish it from anybody else's.

"Got it." Sonic grabbed the paper with his design and handed it Vector.

"Yo, this goes too hard!" Vector exclaimed as Charmy glanced over his shoulder.

"That's some mad talent right there." He added. Sonic grinned with a shrug. "Thanks. That was kid stuff."

"Yo, I can't wait to get this! Let's go, Charmy! And when it's done, you've gotta take a picture with my iPhone." Vector said, standing up.

"_Hell_ no. I didn't deal with your last iPhone when it was just _normal_ heffa technology. I sure as _hell_ am not dealing with the new one with that dumb bitch trying to speak to me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Sherry, Suchie, Swearie-"

"_Siri?_" Sonic asked incredulously.

"Yeah, that bitch. I hate that motherfucker."

"Charmy, she's not real!"

"That's the point. This heffa technology is too advanced. My phone shouldn't be talking back to me and answering questions like it's actually thinking about what I have to say. It's too fucking much. That's the same exact shit that happened in _Eagle Eye_. And what happened? That fucking computer tried to take over the entire world _and_ almost won! The only thing that stopped it was Shia-fucking-LaBeouf. I know _I'm _not Shia LaBeouf, so I'll be damned if I ever get a phone that's smart enough to talk to and answer me. Shit. It's like it's got some mind control shit. Too many people have Siri, too many are obsessed. Damn computer's gonna try to run the world. It's not. Running. Me. Fuck that shit." They now were all at the door, Vector and Sonic staring at Charmy.

"Sooo… you're not gonna take the picture?" Vector asked. Charmy stared back at him.

"After everything I just explained to you, you're still gonna ask?"

"I need to know!"

Charmy shook his head at him before passing him and walking out the door. "Later, Sonic."

"Thanks again, Sonic." Vector said, before following him. "Damn it, Charmy, that isn't an answer! Are you or are you not gonna take my damn picture?"

Sonic sighed as he closed the door.

_Heffas_.

* * *

About two hours later after the baby had woken up well rested, she and Sonic were both lounging on the couch while Sonic had put on _The Lion King_ for background noise. Roxanne was working on pages in her coloring book while Sonic was busy on a new picture.

"I'm done again." Sonic lowered his sketchpad and looked at his niece as she proudly held up her picture.

"Wooww, look at this one." He said with a grin as he took it from her. "You're coloring inside the lines and everything! You clearly got your talent from me. I love it." Roxanne beamed at his praise. "I'm going to put this on the fridge so Silvey can see it, okay?"

"'Kay."

He stood from the couch just as the doorbell rang _again_.

"Damn." He murmured, putting the picture down before walking to the door and opening it.

"What's up, heffa!" Monkey Khan/Ken stood outside in his brown uniform, his arm holding a large box. "Just dropping off this package for your Roomie. Where is that overprotective heffa, he gotta sign off."

"Nott here. I'll sign it."

"You can't do that, man. Only the recipient of the package can. Those are the rules." Sonic stared back at him with a blank look before Khan cracked up. "I'm just playing, heffa! Go 'head and sign, I don't care." He dropped the box into Sonic's arms and walked past him into the house. "You got anything to drink in this place? Heffas be thirsty!"

"Yo, chill with that, I got my niece right there." Sonic kicked the door shut with his foot and brought the package into the living room, placing it on the coffee table.

"Oh, I didn't even see her. What's happening, lil homegirl?" Khan grinned, standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Uncah Ken." Roxanne smiled kindly. He cracked up.

"She called me Ken! Aw, man, that's tight. She has me perfect." He continued to laugh as he walked down the hall and into the kitchen.

Sonic quickly scribbled Silver's name down and picked up the clipboard. He walked into the hallway jut as Ken was passing back, a can of beer in his hand.

"Here, man." Sonic rolled his eyes, handing the clipboard to him.

"Cool, and thanks for the drink, man. I needed it. I'll catch you later, Sonic. Later, lil homie!" He called into the living room before he walked out.

Sonic sighed before he walked back into the living room. "Roxanne, what are we gonna do with these crazy people?"

"I'll tell you what you need to do!" Sonic spun around as Eggman walked into the living room and easily sat down in Silver's recliner. "You and all the other heffas in town and the rest of the world need to do us all a favor and go hang yourselves! Try to make it a better world for the humans."

"What the f-" He stopped himself at the last minute when he glanced to Roxanne in the corner of his eye. "What the _heck_ are you doing here?" He glared at him angrily. Roxanne just looked curious.

"Well, that's a very interesting question with a very interesting story. You see I was doing one my many occupations, today I was a burglary alarm tester. I was helping many of the lovely humans in Station Square by making sure their alarms were all working correctly. I'd try to get in through back doors, garages, basements, and windows, checking to make sure the alarms would sound off correctly. Unfortunately, on my way to the next house, I lost control of my Egg-Carrier and crashed it, causing the airbag to go off. I wasn't hurt, but I did suffer from a mild concussion. Your house was the first one I saw, and because I wasn't exactly myself, I assumed this was the house I was supposed to check. I decided to try the windows, so I climbed that tree out back, got into your roommate's room, and then passed out on his bed. I just woke up about five minutes ago."

Sonic and Roxanne stared at him. "Really though?" It was the only thing Sonic could think to say. Eggman shrugged.

"First of all, you _should_ be thanking me. I inadvertently let you heffas know that you are currently unprotected." He glanced around. "Where is Silver, anyway?"

"At the park. He'll probably be there until dusk, which means you have a lot of time to go meet him _there_." Sonic asked, gesturing to door.

"Just like a Hedgehog to try and kick a harmless man out of the house. Heffa." Eggmna grumbled.

"Silver isn't here to stop me. So I'd watch it if I were you. You might just get into another '_accident_.'" Sonic stared him down with a hard glare. Eggman tried not to look intimidated but failed.

"Heffa, you wouldn't do all that. Especially with a child right here." Eggman finally noticed Roxanne. "Little girl, do you remember my name?"

"Yes." She said with a smile. "Uncah Eggmna No 'Lation."

"That's no _re_lation, babygirl. Emphasis on the 'no' part." Sonic muttered, sitting down beside her.

Eggman let out a raspy laugh. "Heh. Surprised, you remember that." He grinned at her. "Not bad… for a little monkey, that is."

"Eggman…." Sonic warned in low voice.

But Roxanne only giggled. "I'm no monkey, silly."

"Yes you are." Eggman grinned again.

"Nuh-uh."

"Are too."

"Uh-_uhhh_."

"Oh yeah-huh."

"No, _you_ a monkey!" Roxanne giggled. Sonic cracked up and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Owned by my niece, heffa!" He couldn't help it. It slipped. "That's my girl right there!"

Surprisingly, even Eggman laughed along with them. "Now _that's_ where you're wrong! You only see me by the color of my skin, but I am in fact a normal acceptable being who luckily cursed with vitiligo."

Roxanne stared at him while Sonic just rolled his eyes. He had heard this lie of a sob-story too many times before.

"It's what Michael Jackson had." Eggman continued when she didn't react. She still just stared at him, confused.

"She's two, Eggman." Sonic said at his frustrated expression.

"Well, anyways, you're still a monkey. Even if your mother was raised by sophisticated people!"

Roxanne scrunched her nose in confusion. "Huh?"

"Alright, out." Sonic announced, standing as he walked over to Eggman. "I think she's gotten her full day's lesson on prejudice for the day." He grabbed him by the neck of his collar and proceeded to drag him out of the chair and out of the living room.

"Unhand me, you street rat!" He snapped, struggling against his grip.

"Bye Uncah Eggman!" Roxanne called happily as they passed by her.

"No Relation." Sonic added.

"See you later, little monkey!" Eggman called back quickly just before he was tossed out on the sidewalk.

Sonic slammed the door shut and locked it. He was about to return into the living room, but decided to run upstairs and lock the windows too.

When he came back down, he glanced at the clock on the wall. It was a little after five. By the time he would make dinner, Silver would probably be home by then.

"Hey, Roxy," He walked back into the living room and leaned against the wall. "I'm about to start cooking dinner. What are you hungry for?"

"Hmmm..." She scratched her head as she thought. "Can we have… spaghetti?" She asked with a smile.

"Of course we can. You're in charge." Sonic grinned at her and she smiled back. "What veggie do you want on the side?" Her smiled fell when he said that. "Oh come on, you just have to eat a little."

"How much?" She scrunched her face up cutely in disgust.

"Let's saayyy… one bite." Her eyes widened.

"Daddy makes me eat a lot more than one bite."

"Daddy's not here." He grinned with a shrug.

"Okay!" She exclaimed. Sonic chuckled.

"Broccoli or green beans?"

"Bleh, green beans." She said quickly.

"Good call. I'll start making dinner now and then after we can-"

_Ding-dong._

Sonic turned and stared at the door. This had to be a joke.

No. He wasn't getting it this time. He had had more than enough visitors for one day.

_Ding-dong._

Nope. They could stand out there all day for all he cared. He was not answering that-

"Uncah Speedy? It's raining." Roxanne brought his attention to her as she glanced out the window behind her. "They might be cold." She said innocently, gazing up at him with her large brown eyes.

_Ding-dong._

"I'M COMING!" Sonic shouted towards the door as he slowly went into the hallway.

"If this is a girl-scout, salesmen, or Jehovah Witness, I'm telling you right now," he began loudly, unlocking the door before yanking it open. "The door's gonna get slammed right in your-" He stopped right in the middle of his sentence as he laid his eyes upon the _last_ person he'd expected to see on his doorstep.

"Hey, Speedy."

**-XXXX-**


	4. Look Who's Back In Town

She was referred to as _Amelia_ by any idiot who wanted the ass-whooping of their life.

She was referred to as _Blood Pink _by strangers or her acquaintances out in the streets.

To her friends and family, she let her guard down enough to be referred to by _Amy_.

Amy Rose had graduated early in the same grade as Shadow, Sonia, and Knuckles. Shadow could only tolerate her for so long. Knuckles got along well with her because he could pretty much get along with anybody. Sonia was probably her one and only girl friend to talk to. But she and Sonic?

They were _best_ friends. It didn't make any difference that she was a girl and he was a boy. That she was filthy rich and he was of lower class. That she had always been a grade below him in school while he was struggling just to keep it that way.

They were solid _best_ friends. Sonic thought she was the coolest hedgehog (beside himself) that he knew. She could school anyone when it came to the b-ball court, including Sonic, as much as he hated to admit it. She was quick to jump a bitch first and ask questions later if she thought it was necessary, much like himself. She had an attitude, swag, and a personality that would make a heffa think twice about stepping out of line with her.

Amy was a G. An honorary heffa. A ride-or-die chick.

She was _one bad bitch_. And Sonic loved that about her.

When they had been young teens, Amy twelve and Sonic fourteen, he began to see her differently. He noticed how pretty she was in hoodies and sweats. He noticed that he liked when she wore green because it brought out her eyes. He noticed the way that when she smiled at him, his stomach felt real funny inside.

Shadow was the only one that Sonic discussed some of his thoughts with. He had told his frenemy on more than one occasion that she was definitely "future wife" material for him, much to Shadow's annoyance. But when met by the typical challenge by Shadow to "do something about it," he couldn't.

He had been a freshman then. She was still in junior high at that point. He convinced himself that he wouldn't want to be with a "kid" two years younger. That's just asking to be made fun of. Even worse, he was afraid to mess things up. They were friends. Admitting his feelings could screw up everything. Even if she told him that she liked him too, there'd be a possibility of losing her as a friend if they ever broke up. That was the thing he feared most. Besides, growing up, he saw the types of guys that were attracted to her. Rich snooty boys. As much as he hated them all, he thought that she deserved better than him. So he remained her friend, and tried to convince himself that he should just be thankful and happy that they were only that.

Friends.

Things changed way too soon. In her sophomore year of high school, she had found out that she was able to graduate early with the senior class. On top of that, she had been recruited for a full-ride to play basketball at University of California Berkeley. She had been ecstatic. That was the school she had been dying to get into. Sonic had been _crushed_. It was bad enough that his sister was leaving, and she was only going to be an hour away. Amy on the other hand was soon to be forty one hours away (he'd done the research and MapQuested it). He hadn't even anticipated the thought of her leaving Station Square too. And he wasn't ready.

The last time he had physically seen Amy was the night before she left. She had stayed late at his house to play basketball with him. Neither of them talked about the fact that she was leaving the next day. They just wanted to enjoy and remember their last night together. They didn't want to admit out loud that she was really leaving.

She had just scored the final point in their game when it hit them both. Sonic didn't complain that she cheated and Amy didn't break out the victory dance. They just stared at each other.

"_It's getting late," Amy had begun quietly as she walked over to Sonic, the ball in her hands. "I should probably…." She trailed off, averting her eyes quickly from his._

"_Go?" Sonic said the word they had been avoiding all day._

_Amy nodded once, still looking away from him. The light from the outdoor lamp allowed Sonic to see how shiny her eyes were, due to the tears that were threatening to fall._

"_Amy," He said softly, looking at her intently._

"_What? Don't look at me like that. My eyes just get watery when I'm tired." She said, quickly wiping underneath both eyes. "It's a genetic thing, I guess."_

"_Amy."_

"_Anyways, here's your ball. Maybe next time I see you, you'll finally be able to beat me in a game, _yeah_?"_

_Sonic stared at her as her voice cracked on her last word. Then he stared as one tear slowly rolled down her cheek. Then he knocked the ball out of her hands and finally pulled her into a hug._

_She seemed paralyzed for a second. Sonic was never one to give hugs, let alone show emotion. But then, her arms quickly wrapped around his neck. He hugged her tighter as he heard her let out a choked sob. He brushed her long quills as he felt her tears on his neck._

"_It's gonna be okay." He whispered to her as she continued to cry._

_After holding each other for about a good five minutes, Amy finally pulled back and stared into his eyes, her arms still around his neck._

"_You _know_ I'm gonna miss you more than anybody, right?" She asked him._

_Sonic swallowed a large lump in his throat before nodding. "And you _know_ that I'm missing you already." He responded, his voice sounding raspy._

_Another tear rolled down her cheek, but Sonic gently used his thumb to wipe it away._

"_Hey," he said softly, his hand still cupping her cheek. "This isn't a goodbye. It's a see you soon."_

_Amy slowly smiled at him before leaning closer, giving Sonic a lingering kiss right on the corner of his lips._

"_Love ya, Speedy." She whispered his nickname as she stared into his eyes, still while in the radius of the kissing zone. "See you soon." She finally released her arms from his neck and pulled away from his embrace._

_Sonic watched as Amy walked to her car and got in. She started it and glanced out the passenger window, staring back at him. She held up her hand and gave the smallest of waves as she attempted to smile. Sonic slowly waved his hand back, but didn't even attempt to smile. He couldn't. Then, she pulled off, Sonic still watching the car until it disappeared around the corner._

"_Love you too, Amy."_

They had kept in contact with each other well for a while, through phone calls and video chat. But the calls began to get less frequent in time. Eventually, they became nonexistent. That hurt Sonic. _A lot._ He would call, get no response, and she wouldn't call him back. He understood she was probably busy in her first year of college, but damn. Had she really forgotten about him that quick?

So he quit trying. He knew she was doing okay at least, due to the fact they were still friends on Facebook. Neither of them bothered to communicate with each other on there either. After they more or less stopped talking, Sonic made contact with her through Facebook a grand total of four times, all for the same reason: Her birthday. In return, she did the same to him on his.

And that was that. They had basically accepted that they had gone from _best friends _to _Facebook friends_ in a little under a year. And it _killed_ Sonic.

Which is why she was the _last_ person he'd ever expected to see on his doorstep.

* * *

"_Amy?" _Sonic said incredulously, staring at the girl in front of him. Not that he could really call her that anymore. She was definitely all woman now.

"That's me," She replied softly, shaking the damp quills out of her eyes. "You probably don't want me to hug you, I'm cold, my clothes are soaked-"

Sonic surprised her by quickly taking a step and pulling her into a hug first. She let out a light chuckle in response before wrapping her arms around him.

He was still upset, very upset, that they had stopped talking. But he just couldn't believe that she was really _here_. Hugging him.

"Girl, what is _up_? Come in." He said, pulling back from her.

"No, no, thank you. I'm just passing through for today." She told him, shaking her head.

"Passing through? What do you mean?"

"Long story." She brushed off with an eye roll. "But I just came to say hi to you and also ask if you knew where Sonia was. I stopped by but no one answered."

"She and Shadow are out of town for the weekend."

"Seriously?" Amy groaned, scratching her head. "Figures. I guess I'll check back with her later then."

"Where are you going now though?"

"Well, I'm back in The Square for the summer. So right now I'm looking for a hotel."

This came as a shock to Sonic. She hadn't returned home _once_ when she was at college. "You're back for good?"

"For the time being, yeah. I graduated."

"Damn. That's right…it's been awhile."

"It has." Amy agreed, looking almost sheepish.

"If you're back for the summer, why don't you just stay with your mom?"

"Please. Let's just say the two of us don't exactly have that special mother-daughter bond right now. That shit isn't happening." She scoffed sarcastically. "No, I think for right now, I'm gonna have to book into the motel downtown."

_That_ caught Sonic's attention. "I know you're not talking about Risky's!"

"It's the first week of summer, and all the hotels that I went to are booked. It's the closest place available."

"It's called _Risky's_! Have you heard about the shit that goes on down there?" He stressed while trying to keep his voice down. He then pulled the door closed.

"Sonic, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"It doesn't make a difference if you're a 'big girl.' That's stupid as fuck!"

"Then what do you suggest?" Amy snapped, sounding much like the Amy he used to know. "I have no other place to go! My mom's a bitch, so I'm not staying there and my closest friend is married with a baby, so I'm not trying stay there. I don't have any more options."

"Yeah, you do." Sonic snapped back. "Just stay here."

Amy was taken aback. "What?" She asked softly.

Sonic shrugged. "You heard me. You need a place to stay, I've got the room. Stay here."

Amy looked hesitant as she shook her head. "I don't do handouts."

"Then don't think of it as one. It's me trying to help you out."

"I don't need _that_ much help. I can take care of myself."

"Are you seriously still this stubborn?" Sonic retorted as he marched past her, out into the rain, and went to her car.

"Open the damn trunk." He demanded.

"No!" She snapped, walking up to him.

"Damn it, Amy, stop tripping over this! You're being stupid as hell!"

"I told you, I'm not looking for handouts. I don't need anyone to take care of me."

"God dammit, Amy, this isn't a handout! This is a friend helping another friend!" He stared at her intently as she sighed, lowering her eyes. "Please, just let me help you."

She finally looked up at him and nodded.

"Only for a couple of days, then I'm gone." She said seriously.

"Whatever. Just open the trunk. Got a heffa out here in the damn rain. My hair's gonna get fucked up."

Amy let out a giggle, a sound that Sonic had missed. "_Your_ hair? Look at mine."

"Bitch, you're a girl. Flat iron that shit." He snickered, grabbing her two suitcases as she pushed him.

"Whatever, heffa. I'll re-braid your quills if you really need it that bad." She grinned with an eye roll.

"Are you still heavy-handed as hell?"

"Are you still a tender-headed bitch?" She shot back, a hand on her hip.

Sonic rolled his eyes and smirked. "Still got that attitude."

Amy shrugged a shoulder as she followed him back up the walkway. "I haven't changed."

Sonic nodded with a grin. "Good."

He paused as he got to the door. "Just so you know, I'm watching my niece for the weekend, so try and control your damn mouth." He smirked, before pushing the door open.

"Shut _up_!" Her eyes were wide as she paused in the doorway. "I haven't met her yet."

"Maybe if you visited home a little more often, if _at all_, you might have." Sonic muttered loudly enough for her to hear. As soon as he did, he wanted to kick himself. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like-"

Amy held up a hand to stop him. "No…you're right." She said with a sad smile. Sonic grimaced.

"How old is she?"

"Go ask her, she's right in there. And damn, you're letting all the heat out of the house, man." He smirked, gently nudging her aside to shut the door. Amy looked anxious as she timidly stepped into the living room to look at her best friend's daughter.

"Hey, babe, I got someone I want you to meet. She's gonna be here with us for a couple of days." Sonic spoke, causing Roxanne to look up from her coloring book.

Sonic gestured with his head for Amy to say something to her.

"Hi, I'm Amy. I'm your mommy…and your uncle's friend." She smiled, squatting down eye-level with her.

"Really?" She asked with a smile. Amy nodded. "Cool!"

"What's your name?"

"Roxanne Maria the Hedgehog." She said sweetly.

"That's a very pretty name." Amy grinned, already knowing that the middle name had been Shadow's idea.

"Thank you!"

"How old are you, honey?"

"Two an' a half."

Amy turned to stare at Sonic as if to say "what!" Sonic shrugged with a grin.

"You are such a big girl." Amy told her, almost in awe. "And you are _beautiful_."

Roxanne beamed at her. "Thank you. You too!" Amy smiled again at her.

"Babe, I'm gonna go make dinner now." Sonic announced while he put a movie in the DVD player. "I put in _The Little Mermaid_ for you to watch until it's ready, alright?"

"'Kay."

"Amy, wanna come with?" Amy nodded and stood, following Sonic into the kitchen.

"I can't believe she's two." Amy said softly, sitting down at the table as Sonic went to the fridge.

"Yep. Gonna be three in January."

"Wow…. She's beautiful."

"My sister and Shads made a good-looking baby, that's for sure." He smirked, pulling out the pot for the spaghetti.

"I can definitely see the Freedom Fighter Hedgehog resemblance. She's got your eyes." Amy grinned, looking at him.

Sonic shrugged with a smile. "You know she got her hair from both of them. Them and their crazy shaped quills." He snickered.

"Blue, please. Her hair is _not_ crazy. Hers is just frizzy. It's adorable."

"It better be. My niece has to look good when she's out with her Uncle Speedy."

Amy cracked up. "She does _not_ call you that!"

"Bet? Hey, Roxy!" Sonic called into the other room.

"Yeah?" They heard her soft voice respond.

"Who's the best uncle in the world?"

"Uncah Speedy!"

Amy's mouth dropped with a smile as she stared at him. He shrugged with a smile.

"That's my girl."

"That has to be the cutest thing I've ever heard." Amy smiled. "And Shadow's okay with it?"

"Please, that heffa got over it." Sonic snorted. "When she was first learning how to talk and learn names, he and Son kept trying to get her to call me Uncle Sonic. But every time I was with her, I'd try to get her to call me Uncle Speedy."

Amy laughed. "You know you're wrong."

"Wrong or not, that was the first thing that she called me. And it stuck ever since."

"I love it." Amy smiled at him.

"Yeah. Me too." Sonic grinned, turning on the stove and setting the pot of water on one of the burners. Then he pulled out a chair across from Amy and sat down.

"Well, tell me what's up with you? It's been what, four years?"

"More or less, yeah." Amy gave a light grin. "Well, I've been playing on the UC Berkeley Golden Bears team for the past four years."

"I know. I've seen a game or two."Sonic said.

"You watched?" Amy gave a surprised smile.

"Yeah, I tuned in every once in a while." Sonic shrugged. "You were the one that made the other broads look good, Captain." He smirked.

Amy smiled. "Yeah. I can't believe I made it. It was… _amazing_. Probably one of the best experiences of my life."

"What's the plan now that you're done?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." Amy sighed. "I've been a college ballplayer for the past four years. Now that it's over? I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't picture my life without ball in it."

"Why don't you go pro?" Sonic suggested. "I thought that's what you always wanted to do. Make it big in the NBA. Become that famous basketball star you always wanted to be."

Amy chuckled. "It's funny how plans and dreams change along the way. I _did_ always want that. But when I was at college I talked to a whole bunch of people. NBA players are _constantly_ traveling all the time."

"You love to travel, though."

"I do. But to _always_ be traveling? To always be in a hotel? Never really having a permanent place to call home? Never having any time to have and grow a real family? Not even a pet. I've always wanted a dog, but there's no way I'd ever be able to have one if I'm never home." Amy shrugged. "I had never really thought about it until recently. Maybe it's not what I want anymore…. I don't even _know_ what I want anymore."

"Why don't you coach?" Amy looked at him. "If anyone can teach someone how to play, it's you."

"Why would they want me though? It's not like I'm anyone important yet."

"Please, girl. Schools that are looking for coaches watch players with talent. They've seen the games. They know who the hell Amy 'Blood Pink' Rose is." She grinned as he called her by her team name. "You should do that."

Amy slowly nodded. "It's an option."

"Best option you've ever heard."

"Shut up." She grinned. "What about _you_? What's up?"

"Same old shit." He smirked. "This fall's going to be my last year in college." Amy grinned in surprise.

"I didn't know you went."

"I wasn't going to, but I changed my mind."

"Where are you going?"

"Right here at the community one."

"What's your major?"

"Art with a minor in business." He smiled as Amy looked impressed.

"Okay, Speedy, I see you." She grinned. "What's the plan after you're out?"

"Well, I'm working part-time now because I'm trying to get this office space that's available for rent. I'm trying run my own business and have my own art studio."

"Wow. That's an awesome idea, Sonic." She said sincerely.

"Yup. Speedy Blue Studios in the making." He smirked.

Amy reached over to give him dap. "That's dope."

"Like me." He grinned, fist bumping her.

"Keep dreaming." She said with an eye roll.

"Baby, I'm already awake."

"Blue, I'm back." They heard the voice of Silver. "Are you cooking din-" There was suddenly a lot of commotion in the hall. "What the hell! Whose bags are these in the middle of my damn hallway? Almost broke my goddamn neck! Didn't I tell you not to tear up my house?"

_Perfect._


	5. Talking

Sonic stood from the table, as did Amy, as they both heard Silver loudly making his way down the hall.

"I keep telling you the same damn thing every time I leave!" He fussed as his voice grew nearer. "And that's not to tear up my house! Now you wanna leave bags in the middle of the floor so I can fall to my death?"

"Silver-"

"Whose bags are those? Blue, if I had fallen, I would've whipped your-" He suddenly stopped when he reached the kitchen, taking in the young pink hedgehog standing in his kitchen.

"Hi, Silver," Amy began with an embarrassed smile. "You probably don't recognize me, but I'm-"

"Girl, please, I'm old, but I'm not _that_... well...Yeah, I _am_ _not _that old, but that's beside the point." Silver said with a light smirk. "No, you're Sonic's friend! I remember exactly who you are. Can't really recall your name at the moment, but I know you."

"Amy." She supplied politely.

"Yeah, Amy. I definitely remember you." He said with a reminiscing grin. "You and his bad little butt would always be getting yourselves into trouble, playing basketball outside, and you always end up winning, Sonic would get mad and start screaming, disturbing _all_ the neighbors."

"Hey, she didn't win _that_ much." Sonic grumbled with his arms crossed. Amy gave him a haughty smile.

"Blue, stop lying. Let me continue my thoughts!" Silver snapped, leaning against the counter. "Anyways, you two were like peas in a pod. But then you went away to college. Ooh, girl, Sonic took it bad; moping around here like the sun was never going to shine again-"

"Silver…." Sonic muttered through his teeth. Amy was trying not to giggle.

"Whining about every little thing. Sitting by the phone just waiting to get _some_ type of call-"

"Silver, alright, we know! Damn!" Sonic cut him off angrily.

"Damn it, Blue, this is your last warning _in life_ if you ever raise your voice at me again! The only reason you're even getting _this_ warning is because we have rich company! Just wait until she leaves!" Silver bellowed as if Amy wasn't standing right there.

He then cleared his throat and turned to Amy with a pleasant expression. "Now what exactly are you doing back here, sweetheart?"

Amy tried to contain her chuckle at his bipolar-ness. "Well, I just graduated from college this past week."

"Oh that's right. You graduated with Shadow."

"Yup."

"Congratulations! So you're back in Station Square now?"

"For the time being, yes. Right now I'm trying to find a hotel for my first week back, but all of them are booked until sometime next week."

"Hotel? Why would you need a hotel when you can just stay at home?"

"Unfortunately, my mom and I aren't on the best terms right now."

Silver gave a side-glance at Sonic as if to say, "Rich people have problems?" Sonic rolled his eyes and nodded his head once.

"That's a shame." Silver redirected his attention back to her. "But where are you going to stay now?"

Sonic cleared his throat before Amy could speak. "Silver, I offered if Amy would like to stay with us since she has nowhere else to go. She said she would only be here for a few days at the latest. Can she?"

Sonic waited for the eruption. Silver _hated_ visitors. Especially visitors that planned on _staying_. He just prayed that he wouldn't start screaming while she was right-

"Alright." Was the simple response.

"Al_right_?" Sonic repeated surprisingly.

"Sure. Sweetheart has no place to stay. I see no reason why not if it's only for a few days. You make yourself at home."

Amy beamed. "Really? Oh, thank you so much, Silver. Seriously." She quickly stepped up and gave him a big hug. Silver chuckled before giving her a light pat on the back.

"Now, now, it's no big deal." He said as she released him. Sonic stared at him, his jaw slack.

No big _deal_?

"You and Sonic go take your things upstairs. I'll watch the food."

Amy smiled at him once more before walking out into the hallway. Sonic had been about to follow her, but instead stepped closer over to Silver, who was now washing his hands.

"Silver.'It's no big deal'? Is that seriously all you have to say?" He asked, his voice low in a whisper.

"Hmmm, what else was there?" Silver pretended to think as he scratched his chin. "Oh yeah." He then used his psychokinetic powers to pick up Sonic and ram him against the wall

"Ow!"

"Don't leave shit in the middle of the hallway! Even a rich person's shit!"

"Okay, but that's not exactly what I was talking abou-OW!" He yelled louder as Silver had rammed him against the wall again.

"That one was for raising your voice at me." He grinned, drying his hands.

"Fair enough." Sonic glared evenly, rubbing his aching head. "But for real. Are you really cool with her staying here? This wasn't the reaction I was expecting from you."

"And what the _hell_ do you mean by that?"

"You hate it when anybody stays over."

"That's not true!"

"How about the time Eggman threatened to take over the world, and all those people had to come in here to hide! You wouldn't help them for nothing!

"They ate up my food, used all my electricity, and Monkey Khan _stole_ my girl!"

"What about the time your cousins came in after the Haiti Earthquake? You tried to kick them out too and they're your actual family!"

"There were about 20 of them! There shouldn't be that many people in a house at one time."

"Silver, face it, you hate it when people stay. The only person you never really had a problem with staying was my sister, Sonia."

"And why do you think that?" Silver asked him with a smirk. Sonic gave him a wary look.

"Huh?"

"Hey, Sonic, can you get this bag for me? I can't get it up the steps." They heard Amy call from the hall.

"Go help your little girlfriend, Blue."

Sonic whipped his head around and stared at his roommate's back as he began to stir the pasta. He had no response for that as he left the room.

He turned toward the stairwell to see Amy trying to drag the bag up the steps.

"Dang, girl, put your back into it." He snickered, nudging her out of the way and grabbing the handle. He pulled it much more easily up the rest of the way while Amy followed with her lighter one.

"Thanks."

"Yeah."

"Um, where are you going? The guest room's right here." Amy paused by the closed door they had just passed.

"Used to be. It's Roxanne's room now." Sonic explained over his shoulder, continuing down the hall.

"_Okaayyy_, then where am I staying?"

"My room." Sonic stopped at his door to turn and see her reaction. It was worth it to see her eyes wide and her expression combined with a mix of suspicion and nervousness.

"Oh _hell_ no."

Sonic gave her a blank look. "Like I'm really going to bang you with my niece in the next room." He snickered at her face as she was about to _go_ _off_. "Chill, I'm just playing! We're not in the same bed, girl. Shadow's twin is still in there. Damn." He pushed open the door to prove it to her.

He had rearranged the room sometime after Shadow left. He had added a few more of his Eminem and Tupac posters, along with some of the artwork he'd made. He had also traded up his old dinosaur of a computer for a nice MacBook Pro. Sonic had even gotten himself a king sized bed that took the place of where Shadow and Sonic's beds used to be. But true to his word, Shadow's bed was pushed against the other side of the wall in the corner.

"Somebody forgot how to take a joke." Sonic muttered with a grin, dropping her bag.

"And somebody's still a jerk." She rolled her eyes, pushing past him with her second suitcase.

"Do me a favor, and call me jerk one more time.'" He smirked, leaning against the doorframe.

Amy snickered. "That was literally my ringtone for you for the longest time when we were kids."

"That doesn't hurt my feelings. I know I am. I claim it."

"Because that's what women are attracted to." Amy grinned with an eye roll as she took a walk around the room. She stopped at his desk and stared at his pictures.

"Wow. These are awesome." She said softly, leaning over the chair to look.

"Which ones?" Sonic walked closer until he was over her shoulder.

"All of them." Her voice had a smile in it as she looked at each of the pictures. The first was of Sonic and Shadow standing side by side, both handsomely dressed in black suits for the wedding. Amy giggled at the next picture of Sonic with a very pregnant Sonia. She was giving the camera an annoyed glare as Sonic had a big smile on his face, holding large headphones around Sonia's baby bump.

"I _love_ this one." Amy picked up the frame of a more recent picture and held it closer. "Please make me a copy." The picture she was referring to featured a nice shot of Sonic and his niece. Roxanne was on his lap, facing away from him, as they both gave the camera the thumbs up sign, cute little smiles on both of their faces.

Sonic chuckled. "Sure."

She put the frame down, but then paused, staring at one in the far corner that caught her attention. "No way..." She mumbled, reaching for it. Sonic knew which picture she was looking at just by her voice.

Amy picked up the small and frameless 4x6 photo. The picture had been of a much younger Sonic and Amy, taken from the basketball court. Sonic, in his trademark white gloves and red sneakers, had been squatting low on the ground while Amy, her quills in a short ponytail under a black cap that was on backwards so that part of her front quills were through the hole of the cap, had been on his back piggy-back style, her legs over his legs as if she was sitting. Her arms had been wrapped tightly around his neck, their cheeks pressed together. They were both smirking proudly at the camera.

"Wow… I can't believe you still have this." Amy said, barely above a whisper. Sonic nodded in silence.

"How old were we?"

"I was fourteen. You were twelve."

"Who even took this?" She asked.

"Sonia."

"Why?"

"That was the year she got her brand new camera and she went crazy with it, blinding _everyone_."

Amy turned her head to look up at him. "Okay, Memory."

"I remember a lot of things," Sonic stated in a voice that signified a double meaning.

Amy cleared her throat and averted her eyes from him. "I definitely don't remember you being this tall."

"I'm all man now." He smirked with a lighter tone, turning and walking towards the door.

Amy scoffed. "'All man' my ass."

"What, you think 'cause you went and graduated from college _you're_ suddenly all woman?" Sonic challenged her as they walked.

"Oh, I know I am."

"Girl, please. I still see a five-foot-nothing chick with the same damn attitude that she _thinks_ is cute."

"One, I'm five-seven, so get it right. And two…" She pushed him out of the way to walk down the steps first. "You know you love my attitude." She smirked over her shoulder.

Sonic rolled his eyes with a grin as he followed her. "Bitch, get over yourself."

"Case in point…" She said in a sing-song voice. "You didn't object to what I just said."

* * *

Later that night after a nice dinner and dessert (four scoops of ice cream for Roxanne as promised), Amy strolled into the living room to see Sonic examining his braided quills in the mirror.

"Seriously?" Amy giggled.

"Yeah." He huffed with a glare. "My hair is f-" he glanced over his shoulder to notice Roxanne lounging on the couch, playing with her toys. "A hot mess now. Loose _and_ frizzy. Torn all the way up, thanks to you!"

"And you're _still_ a diva when it comes to your fur." Amy sighed with a grin. "Alright, get your stuff, I'll do it now."

"Forreals?"

"I told you I would if you kept whining long enough. I don't do whining."

Sonic smirked. "Be back."

Moments later he returned with a small basket containing two combs and brushes, a container of hair ties and bobby pins, a bottle of leave-in conditioner, and a jar of styling gel

"Sit your whiney behind down and start taking' 'em out."Amy smirked, taking the basket. She sat down on the couch next to Roxanne, who was now looking very interested.

"You're gonna braid Uncah Speedy's hair?" she asked innocently.

"Yup. 'Cause he's a big baby." Sonic elbowed her in the leg as he sat down in front of her, working on unbraiding.

"Ooh, can you give me a braid?" She said, pointing to the side of her head.

"Sure, hun." Amy smiled, pulling Roxanne closer. She took out the child's pigtails and then quickly began to French-braid a lock of her fur into a cute side braid. Finally, she pulled the rest of her quills up into one ponytail, the braid going into it.

"There ya go!" Amy handed her a mirror.

"_Cooool!_ Thank you!" Roxanne beamed, touching the braid.

"No problem. You're _much_ better at getting your hair braided than your uncle."

"Yeah, whatever." Sonic snipped, still working on his hair. Amy began to help him.

"Who's been doing your quills since I've been gone?"Amy muttered, more so to herself as she unraveled the tangled braids.

"Sonia mostly, but she sucks." Sonic snickered. "She doesn't do it tight enough."

"But you wanna complain to me when I _do_ make them tight enough?"

"You try to pull out my fur!"

"Blue, hush. You're just a complainer." Amy sighed and sat back. "There."

Sonic's hair was now out in a large frizzy mess, looking almost identical to his sister as he turned to face them.

"Uncah Speedy looks like Mommy." Roxanne said, staring at him in awe.

"Yeah, it's a curse." Sonic grinned with an eye roll.

"Seriously though. You guys are like twins. If Sonia were ever to braid her hair and if you were to wear yours like that, I don't think anyone would be able to tell the difference… except for the whole gender thing obviously." Amy mused, grabbing the brush and comb.

"Well… there's actually a funny story about that…." Sonic had a mischievous smirk on his face. Amy gave him a suspicious look.

"What happened?"

Sonic's eyes darted to Roxanne before returning to her. "I'll tell you later."

"I can already tell it's gonna be bad." Amy rolled her eyes, right before the phone rang.

"BLUE! Get the phone!" They heard Silver shout. Sonic groaned as he stood up to grab the receiver from the hallway.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sonic, it's me." He heard Sonia's voice on the other line.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Me and Shadow just wanted to let you guys know that we made it here okay. How's everything going?"

"It's good."

"How's Roxanne?"

"She's fine, Son. You wanna talk to her? I'm gonna be putting her to bed soon."

"Yes, please." Sonic walked back into the living room and handed the phone to Roxanne.

"Someone wants to talk to you."

Roxanne looked curious as she spoke into the phone. "Hello?" she listened before her eyes lit up. "Hi, Mommy!" she said happily with a smile. Amy and Sonic both grinned at her cuteness on the phone.

"Uh-huh… uh-huh… I'm having fun… I miss you too…. Okay… hi, Daddy! …Yes… uh-huh… yes, he's being good." She giggled. Sonic rolled his eyes, knowing he was asking about him.

"Uh-huh… okay, I'll see you later… love you too! Here's Uncah Speedy." She held the phone back to Sonic.

"What's up?"

"Hey," he heard Shadow's voice. "She sounds good."

"Of course she's good. She with me!"

"I'm sure. Thanks again. We'll be home on Sunday."

"Alright. But hey, hold on! Put Son back on the phone." Sonic said quickly.

"Why?" Shadow sounded suspicious.

"What, hef-… just do it. You're lucky I got this baby right here, okay?"

He heard Shadow sigh before there was the sound of the phone being handled. Sonic quickly tossed it to Amy, who looked nervous.

"Why'd you give this to me?" She whisper-snapped.

"She's your best friend, I was trying to be nice!" Sonic snapped back, confused.

"I haven't talked to her in months." She said quietly, surprising Sonic. So he wasn't the _only_ one she blew off. "What do I say?"

Sonic was silent for a moment as he thought about it. What would _he_ want her to say if she would've bothered to call him back after so many months?

Sonic shrugged. "Just say hi. It's the least you can do." He said honestly.

Amy's face froze as she heard a voice on the other line. "Hello?" She began timidly. "Hi, Sonia, it's me… Amy."

She was still for a moment before she jumped, holding the phone away from her ear in surprise. Even Sonic heard the scream that radiated from the speaker.

"Hey, calm down!" Amy let out a shaky laugh, holding the phone closer. "Yeah, I'm good, how are _you_, mommy?" she grinned. "I know, she's beautiful, Sonia. Honestly. You and Shadow are very lucky... Mm-hmm… no, I'm back for the summer... girl, if you scream in my ear one more time!" Amy laughed, once again holding the phone back. "Yeah… I stopped by to visit Sonic and he offered for me to stay for a while since I don't really have a place to go yet… long story… and no, why'd you say it all like _that_? It's not that big of a deal." Sonic noticed she kept glancing back to him as she listened to whatever Sonia was saying. "Girl, please, you have an overactive imagination. It's not like that." Her cheeks seemed redder as she glanced back to Sonic. He was getting suspicious.

"Blue!" Sonic turned to see his roommate in the hallway, ushering him over.

"Yeah?"

"Who's that on the phone?" He whispered.

"Sonia."

"Oh hell no. You better get her off the phone. She's not gonna run up my phone bill, I'll tell you that much." Silver snapped quietly. "If it's a penny over, I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"What!" Sonic protested. "How is that fair?"

"Well _I_ sure as hell can't beat her, now can I? Do you know what would happen if you even _accidentally_ touched a rich woman back where _I'm_ from? Mm-mmm. I'm not having the police come knocking at my door to shoot me, oh hell no." Silver ranted to himself, making his way up the stairs. "I'm going to bed. Handle it."

Sonic rolled his eyes and stomped back into the living room over to Amy.

"'Scuse me." He said, snatching the phone out of her hand. "Yeah, I'm gonna need you to call her back on her cell if you wanna talk. Alright thanks, deuces." Sonic quickly ended the call without giving Sonia a chance to respond.

"Um, excuse you?" Amy gave him a look.

"What do you want, I _did_ say 'scuse me." Sonic shrugged. "You've got fur to braid, and _you_ little missy," He directed his attention to Roxanne, who was resting her head against the back of the couch, eyes looking heavy. "It's bedtime for you."

"Aww, but I'm not sleepy." Roxanne said softly, sitting up taller and trying to look awake.

"Really?" Sonic smirked. He then yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head. He grinned as Roxanne soon yawned as well, rubbing her eyes.

"You're looking pretty sleepy to me." He chuckled, scooping her up into his arms. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"But my braid!" She whined, still rubbing her eyes.

"I've got just the thing for your braid. Let's go. Ames, come with and bring your cam."

"Coming, Sonia!" She smirked, rising from the couch. Sonic whipped his head toward her.

"Insult me like that one more time."

About ten minutes later, after many pictures by Amy, they had used one of Sonic's bandanas to put on Roxanne's hair. They were now in her room, Sonic laying her in her crib.

"Night, Beautiful." Sonic said before giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. She kissed his back.

"Night-night, Uncah Speedy." She responded quietly, her eyes already closing. Amy stood by the door, watching with a smile.

"That was sooo precious." Amy cooed as they walked back down the stairs.

"Yeah yeah." Sonic grinned.

"Seriously. She is _such_ a sweet baby."

"Best kid I know."

When they returned to the living room, Amy sat on the couch and Sonic sat in front of her again.

"Do my quills, hoe."

"You wanna rephrase that before I _literally_ start pulling out your fur, my heffa?" Amy suggested as she grabbed a large handful of Sonic's fur.

"Quit playing, Pinky, you know I'm joking." He said quickly, pulling away from her death grip.

"Mm-hmm, that's what I thought." She then began working the Gorilla-Styling gel through his hair. "Wanna tell me about what you couldn't discuss in front of your niece?"

"Oh yeah." He snickered. "Well, it had been April Fools' Day, the day I manage to clown _everybody_. Sonia had been working. I go over to their apartment and let myself in. Sonia had still been preggers at the time, and Shads was really exhausted from helping around and had been sleeping a lot…."

"Oh dear God." Amy moaned.

"I had taken my quills out of my braids and styled it into a Sonia frizz, then transformed myself to the color magenta. I sneak into their bedroom and Shads was napping on the bed, right? So, I just slide in with him…." He was already laughing.

"Are you freaking serious?" Amy was fighting to contain her laugh. "What happened?"

"The best part, man! I wrap my arm around him and he's all like, 'You're back early?' I just gave him an 'mm-hmm.' This boy rolls over, looks me in my _face_ with this naughty little grin and says, 'So are you thinking what I'm thinking?'"

Amy cracked up. "You are _shitting_ me! He did _not_!"

"Head ass! And then I said to him, 'Yeah, bitch, I want you to get naked!' The story isn't that funny after that, though." He said, shaking his head with an eye roll.

"Oh hell no, continue!" Amy was dying.

"Maybe it hadn't been the _smartest_ idea, going that far with an exhausted Shadow. I never seen the hedgehog so pissed. It was kinda sexy though." He nodded his head appreciatively. Amy rolled her eyes. "Nah, girl. He gave me a black eye and everything."

Amy snickered. "You deserved it. What'd Sonia do to you?"

Sonic shrugged. "Nothing. She said I had already learned my lesson after Shadow chewed my ass out. He flat out flipped. Throwing shit and cursing me out. It was funny as hell though. If I could do it again though, I would."

"You're a mess." Amy shook her head as she brushed the gel through his hair.

Not that Sonic would ever admit it, but every time he got his quills done, he _loved_ getting his fur brushed. The motion felt so good on his head. Amy was the only person to do Sonic's fur that knew that he secretly loved that feeling.

This began to bother Sonic. Not the fact that she was brushing his hair, but the fact that they were both sitting, acting like nothing had ever happened after 4 years of not speaking to each other. He was also mad at the fact that she waltzed right back into his life without any warning, just acting like all things were good between them. He was even mad at himself for forgetting so quickly, accepting her back into his life again so easily. As if nothing had changed.

"Amy."

"Hmm?"

"…When are we actually going to talk?"

Sonic felt the brush pause on his head for a moment too long before she resumed again.

"Um, sure. What do you wanna talk about?" She asked breezily.

Sonic jerked his head away from the brush and turned to give her a hard look.

"Don't play with me. You know what the hell I'm talking about."

Amy stared him for a minute before placing the brush down and crossing her arms.

"What do you have to say that's on your mind, Sonic?" She said through clenched teeth.

"_Me_?" Sonic let out an incredulous chuckle. He stood up and used the band on his wrist to quickly pull back his fur, parts of frizzy mess now in a ponytail, the same way Sonia wore her fur when they were children. "What do _I _have to say? What the hell do _you_ have to say?"

"What?" Amy snapped.

"You don't know how to call a heffa?"

"You don't understand!"

"Then explain it to me!" He suddenly raised his voice, making Amy jump. "Please! Explain to me what's so hard about picking up the phone and giving a heffa a damn call. Explain to me how you don't know how to call a heffa back after he called you six times in one day. _Please_ explain how it's so difficult to even give a heffa, who _thought_ he was your best friend, that much consideration." He glared at her hard as he breathed heavily.

Amy, still on the couch, had her head down, not making eye contact with him.

"I missed you." She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sonic stared at her before letting out a scoff. "You have a real funny way of showing it."

"You don't understand, Sonic." She finally looked up at him. "You seriously will never understand how much it hurt to leave Station Square… to leave you." Sonic crossed his arms and gave her an impatient look to continue.

"I honestly thought that I'd be okay. That leaving home so much wouldn't affect me." She chuckled humorlessly to herself. "I was so wrong. You don't know how much pain I experienced emotionally while I was there."

"What and I didn't feel pain?" Sonic cut in sarcastically.

"Don't fucking compare yourself to me!" Amy snapped, rising from the couch.

"I'm not comparing anything, I'm just telling you that you weren't the only one who was hurt."

"You didn't experience the kind of pain that I did."

"Who's comparing shit now?" He held out his arms, gesturing to her.

"God dammit, Sonic!" Amy had raised her voice and stalked to the other side of the room, her back to him. Sonic was silent, staring at her as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Do you know how many times I considered coming home?" She said quietly, her back still turned.

"You wouldn't have done it."

"Don't tell me what the fuck I would've done!" She snapped her head around, glaring at him over her shoulder. "You don't know."

He didn't say anything as she turned all the way around, coming closer to him.

"Do you know how many times I considered dropping out of UC Berkeley? Do you know how many times I literally started to pack my bags after we did a video chat? Do you know how many times I _bawled_ after hearing your voice? Too many to fucking count! I would sometimes cry if I talked to Sonia, but _always_ when I talked to you!"

Sonic stared at her in silence, his mind racing. She had never been a crier, except for that last night. She was really crying over him?

"I really thought I was going to drop. But this was my _dream_ school. I didn't want to waste everything I worked so hard to earn because of one moment of weakness."

"And how the fuck do you think I felt?" Sonic questioned calmly, not bothering to raise his voice.

"I can only imagine what you must have thought." She replied, rolling her eyes. Sonic noticed they were watery. "That I was a fucking bitch….That I didn't wanna be friends with you anymore…."

"That you forgot all about me." Sonic told her, his voice low and quiet as he glared at the floor.

Amy looked at him for a moment before stepping closer until she was face-to-face with him. She reached her hand up and stroked the top of his frizzy side bang once, causing him to look into her eyes.

"Hey." She said softly, her hand still resting on his head. "That was the absolute _farthest_ thing from my mind. I couldn't forget about you if I tried… and I did. Not talking to you… not answering your calls…. I _did_ try to distance myself from you. Was it selfish? Yes. Was it the most fucked up thing I could've ever done? Yes. Did I hate myself for it? More than you know." She removed her hand as she quickly swiped under her left eye. Sonic stared at her intently.

"Just because I didn't talk to you, Sonic," She began again, her voice hoarse. "Doesn't mean I didn't think about you. I couldn't go a day without thinking about you… not a damn day. And I need you to know from the _bottom_ of my heart… that I'm sorry that I did that to you."

Sonic and Amy stared at each other for a long moment before Sonic let out a big sigh. Then he looked at her.

"…Pinky, you are _stupid_."

Amy looked at him incredulously. "Are you fucking serious? That's all you have to say?"

Sonic rolled his eyes and smirked before gently taking her face in his hands. "There is no way in _hell_ I would've let you drop out because of me." Amy stared up at him, eyes wide. "You know what I would've told you if you would've actually _talked_ to me about this? I would've told you to get your head in the game and stop being a bitch. I would've told you to man up, get it together, and handle your business. Why? Because that's my style. I'm real and I'm gonna tell it to you straight without the bullshit. And you know what? That probably would've worked. You would've gotten your shit together and dealt with it. You're fucking stronger than you think. And I'd be damned if I would've let you fuck up everything you ever wanted just because of me. Fuck that noise." Tears began to fall from Amy's eyes, but Sonic continued to wipe them away.

"You're my best friend, Ames. Even when we weren't talking. Even when I was pissed. You were _still_ my best friend. That's never ever gonna change…. Don't do that shit to me again. Just be real with me."

Amy pulled herself closer and embraced him, her arms wrapping around his waist. Sonic hugged her back and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"It's okay."

"I missed you… so much." She said quietly, squeezing him tighter.

Sonic smiled to himself before giving her a light kiss at the top of her head. "Missed you too."

After hugging it out for a while, Sonic finally pulled back from her. "We're good?"

Amy nodded with a relieved expression. "_Yes_."

"_Good_." Sonic slung an arm around her shoulder. "All these emotions are making' me tired. Let's go to bed. You can do my quills tomorrow."

"That sounds great right about now." She smiled, wrapping an arm around his waist as they walked out of the living room.

"Do me one favor though, before we go to bed?"

"Yeah?"

"And don't laugh at me, Pinky."

"What?"

"…Brush my fur for a while."


End file.
